Would You Use A Birth Photographer?

I just recently found out about birth photography. I mean, I’ve always known that people take pictures of child birth, but I’ve always pictured it more as a friend or member of the family taking pictures. However, you can actually hire a birth photographer to take professional pictures.

I know it’s not about the vagina, but I don’t think I can ever, ever let someone take pictures of my vagina. Or my breasts. No way. Some people don’t have vagina pictures of their child birth, but some other people do. The photographer captures very raw emotions: you can see the pain on the mom’s face as she pushes, the anxiety on the dad’s face, and the dilated vagina with the baby coming out. I like to see these pictures, but I don’t want mine to be seen. Am I selfish?

Even as I type this right now, a part of my mind is saying, “Well, it’s not so bad. Think about many years later when you’re holding those pictures in your hand.” Or “Think about your son’s wedding. Wouldn’t he want a picture of him coming out of his mommy’s vagina in the slideshow?” Kidding.

Seriously, I think that child birth is such a beautiful thing, and I am at loss for words to describe its miracle and the greatness of God through child birth, but I am just not sure I can handle someone taking pictures of my vagina. I know, I know. I keep coming back to the vagina thing. Perhaps, if there’s a way to take the pictures and not have any of them online, unless I blog them myself.

Birth photography is BEAUTIFUL! I couldn’t stop looking at the pictures online. Some of them have pictures of the whole thing (vagina and all), but I cannot post those here. Anyway, enjoy the pictures below.

This had to be difficult. I don’t know for sure if that’s a military uniform that the baby’s father is wearing, but wherever he was, I’m sure it was difficult to not be there while his baby was being born. And I can’t imagine what it felt like for the mom.

I cried after looking at these pictures, especially the second to the last one. I don’t know the pains and joys of motherhood, but from all indications, it’s not easy at all. The women in these pictures had the support of their partner, but you can still see the pain on their faces. What about women who give birth alone? Wow.

On a lighter note, I decided that maybe I’ll do it. Like 50/50 chance. But just to entertain myself (cause I already had an idea how this conversation would end), I decided to ask Igwe how he felt about us having a birth photographer. His exact words: “F*ck no! That’s invasion of my privacy. We can’t have someone snapping my private part.” Then, in the most sarcastic way, he proceeded to call me, “Madam Child Photographer” for the rest of the conversation.

Loool at the head going in. Luckily for you, there’s no such thing as TMI on this blog. But you’re actually choosing CS on purpose? Interesting. I have heard that it’s the safest way to have a child, don’t know for sure.

At least some of these are tasteful photos I was waiting to see a bloodied vagina with an equally bloodied head coming out of it and probably poop as well surrounded by gloved hands full of blood. I wouldn’t allow the photographer in for the delivery but he can take photos once baby and me have all been cleaned up. That photo of the woman leaning over on the couch in a half doggy style position with the placenta still sticking out is for lack of a better word ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww I doubt if her child would want to see that I know I wouldn’t

Pendo, well, I can’t put vagina pictures on this blog. But honestly, I did not think anything disgusting of that picture at all. I thought it was beautiful. It’s a huge miracle to me. I don’t know if it’s because I have witnessed a child birth before, but for me, any time I see something like this, I’m just going awwwwww. Per the child seeing it, they probably don’t take these pictures for the child. It’s probably for the mom and dad *shrug*

Speaking as a birth photographer (the One Tree Photography image above is mine) and as a woman who’s had two births photographed (the future Miss America image above is my daughter), I have to say that birth photography is not about photographing vaginas or huhas or honey pots or whatever you want to call it. It’s all about the emotion of a moment and experience that changes you forever. If it’s not for you, fine. Don’t have a birth photographer. No one is saying you need to. But for many people, it’s a way to preserve one of the most amazing experiences of their lives. I also love that those people very often (though not always) choose to share their images with the world so that we can see the power and normalcy of birth. Whether you are giving birth at home or in a hospital, vaginally or by cesarean — birth is transformative, emotional, and, even with blood or poop or whatever messy things you may be afraid of, beautiful.

Ditto Jessica! After I had my daughter and experienced the most MIRACULOUS day of my life, it drove me straight into specializing in birth photography, and I couldn’t be more blessed with incredible experiences & the happiest clients! Still regret not hiring a professional for my first birth, but you can bet I’ll be paying top dollar for it next time. While I do not regret what we spent on our wedding photos and video, (they are lovely!) now after having a child, I would choose paying more for a birth photographer than for our wedding photos. You can always get dressed up and get another cake. There’s no redo on the moment you hold your child and look into their eyes for the very first time. :”’)

Wow! Laura, that’s very interesting what you said about the wedding vs birth photographer. I didn’t even think of it. But it does make sense. The wedding is a very important day, but it is still mostly just a party. The birth, however, is a miracle.

The future Miss America is yours? Oh, my God! How is she? How old is she now? What’s her name? I know, I know, too many questions. I’m sorry. I feel like I’m responding to a celebrity. Lol. Congratulations! Your baby is a natural born poser. Thank you so much for reading. I agree with you about birth being transformative and so much more. I’ve never experienced it, but I’m a big “fan” lol.

Awwwww. November Sue is such a beautiful name. She sounds like the name a popular singer would have. When you have a cool name like November Sue, the only thing you can do is get even cooler. Thank you for reading and commenting, and for telling us about your November Sue

Jessica, so well said. I completely understand the parents who think birth photography is not for them, but as a parent who opted out of photography with their first child, I regret not hiring a professional to capture those moments. Are there icky parts to birth? Yes, of course! But hiring a true professional, when you look at the images they captured, you won’t remember all the icky parts. All you will remember is the love you felt the first time seeing your baby, and how priceless the images are. I praise the women that share these images of the most vulnerable and emotional time in their life…I also feel bad that the people who don’t care for these type of images must go through and still look at them, with disgust. Think about how that makes both the photographer, as well as the parents, feel? Probably not so great.

Thank you, Natalie! I understand why anyone may not like the pictures. I guess it’s the same reason why people don’t like watching child birth videos. Some people are just afraid. Either way, I think it’s a beautiful thing.

i am speaking as a birth photographer, and as someone who is searching for a photographer for her next birth. The most frequent question I receive is “Do you HAVE to take pictures of the baby coming out?” The answer? Absolutely not. In fact, 90% of the births I have covered have had zero crowning shots. In fact, those same ones have had zero images of the vagina whatsoever.

But isn’t that what birth photography is about??

No. Birth is BEAUTIFUL. It’s the emotion of bringing a child into the world, of willing your body to do the seemingly impossible, and the tears and sighs afterwards of, “We did it. I did it.” I have yet to photograph a birth in which I wasn’t crying at the emotions on mom and dad’s faces, and at the new little babe as they all meet each other for the first time.

Birth is so much more than just popping a baby out of your vagina, and that’s what birth photographers aim to capture.

I didn’t have a birth photographer when my first was born. I honestly had never heard of it. And there was so much I missed out on, things I can’t remember or are starting to fade as time goes on. Things I WANT to remember, like my dad crying (which I never saw, but was told later he did) as he saw his first grandchild. My son was taken to the NICU right after he was born, so I didn’t get to hold him for 13 hours. I have no photos of him at that precious squelchy squishy newborn-y goodness. I have no photos of me holding my precious son (yes, a birth photographer will come back after if you’d like and capture some of those first moments later on, called a Fresh 48 or Birth-Day session). I completely regret that.

Birth photography isn’t for everyone, for sure. But don’t be so quick to say it’s not for you.

Woooow. Victoria, you make me wanna get pregnant right now — just so I can have a birth photographer. Lol. Yeah, I can imagine how great it would be to see your dad crying. I can’t imagine how it’d feel to see my dad crying when I have a baby. Beautiful.

Adding to the voices of birth photographers – the only time I have ever taken any shots of a woman’s vagina were when I had a client who *specifically* requested that I get shots of the entire crowning and delivery.

Birth photographers are trained in birth and very respectful of the process. I have clients who were extremely concerned with my presence in the delivery room for all the reasons you stated. Every single one of them ended up extremely pleased with their images and would do it again.

I’m not saying you must have a birth photographer, but if you are on the fence because you don’t want a camera in your vagina, I assure you that you are with the majority of women and that should be the last of your concerns!

My birth photos are one of my most precious possessions! They bring me to tears every time I look at them and help me reconnect with the amazing experience of both my births. They capture all the emotion and excitement of those hours that otherwise would be completely lost in the haze that is my memory of my natural childbirth. A no time was a “camera in my vagina” and thankfully so. Birth photographers are trained to capture these moments without intruding on a birth and the privacy of that moment. I encourage all my friends to look past their preconceived notions of what birth photography is and view the images of a true birth photographer like ours. They are overwhelmingly blown away by the beauty of the photos.

Lol please don’t be offended. It’s just Vera and her huge personalty. You would have to be a regular reader to understand… Your artist friends did an amazing job in capturing the moment. Absolutely gorgeous pictures!

If you want beautiful and tasteful images of birth, an experienced, professional birth photographer is more likely to capture those images than a random family member who is not trained nor very experienced with a camera.

I absolutely needed a birth photographer for my last birth… I was birthing as a single mother and my first two births were so fuzzy in my memory that I constantly had to ask my (now ex) husband for reminders about certain aspects and there was a lot of “did that really happen?!” This time, I had Emily Weaver Brown photograph the beautiful homebirth of my third daughter and I look back on those amazing {tasteful} photos and am reminded of how STRONG I am. I did that with my doula and my sisters by my side and I TOTALLY ROCKED IT. I don’t need anyone else to remind me… I have the photos and they are one of my most prized possessions.

We hired photographers for three of our six births (and only wish we had with the first three.) I have pictures of the very first time my husband held our daughter and that image is hanging up in her room – the look on his face as he falls in love with his little girl is priceless to me, and I know that’s one of her favorite pictures. I love my wedding photos – I ADORE my birth photos. There’s an image of me holding our littlest and my husband is looking at both of us – I would have missed seeing the expression on his face if not for our photographer quietly and discretely snapping that moment. It still brings tears to my eyes to see the love in his face! Truly, I didn’t even notice our photographers were there – but I’m so thankful for every memory they captured.

(Side note, I am biased as I’ve since become a birth photographer, too. I want to help parents forever preserve those sweet, fleeting, precious first moments.)

Heidi, I can only imagine how you feel when you see pictures of your husband looking at you and your daughter. I am really looking forward to creating and storing such memories. I can only imagine how good it feels. Congratulations on all your births.

Vera chai were you on Good Morning America or what cos the traffic on this one post is amazing.
Anyways congrats on the pregnancy … looks like all those late night adult shop trips paid off
*straight face*

As a doula, on thing that I love about birth photography is that it allows a woman to see herself through a different lens. During active labor women often feel “isolated”, “out of control” or “chaotic”, but what we see on the outside is a woman who looks calm, surrounded by support, and candlelight. It’s interesting to look back at that moment when you thought you couldn’t do it, and see yourself in a different way.

I once saw the most powerful and amazing photo of a woman giving birth and at that second I concluded that I would absolutely love to capture the most miraculous moment of my life when that time comes. So I say YES to the birth photography! I don’t think I would want a full on shot of my vag tho! I might never look at myself the same lol. But I want the whole moment captured, from the look on my husband’s face to the first moment I get to hold my little one in my hands.

You hire a professional photographer for your wedding. Why on earth would you only want second grade photos of the most important day of your life? And you know what, you won’t remember your birth. Not really, its all a bit foggy and strange. In years to come, lots of it I will only remember because of the photos I have.

I have heard (and even read that on this post, too) that you won’t remember your child birth completely. That’s astounding. And to answer your question, I have no idea why I’d want second grade for my babies. It sounds silly now.

My choice to have a birth photographer was right for me and our family. It may not be for everyone, some women may be insecure about giving birth, I can relate, my first birth was I was that woman. After my first was born, I truly realized with my whole person what an amazing , beautiful, emotional experience bringing another life into the world is. What other event, described as amazing, beautiful and emotional wouldn’t be captured? After my photos from my second birth arrived, I was overjoyed with emotion. Having the real ability to witness my experience from the outside perspective and seeing my own emotion, emotions that in the moment are so strong, yet so fast is priceless. I treasure this photos, I look at them often and am always tearing up when I do. The only negative I would say is it kind of makes me want to have more babies!

Well, it’s an experience better imagined. Having the picture taken and if some how it mistakenly finds its way online, wouldn’t that mean immortalising a clear vision of my wife’s honey pot on a not good looking day? Mba odikwa risky.

Richie, lol, spoken like a true Nigerian man. Well, the only people who will have access to the pictures are you and the photographer, so I’m not even scared about them making it online. But I do understand your concern.

Sorry, I think the whole birth photography really strange, but then again I didn’t want my husband there, either (but he’d never let that fly lol). Such a powerful event, I’d rather be by myself if I could.